Which Districts of the Court of Appeal Average the Most Votes to Affirm in Civil Cases (Part 2)?

Last week, we began another phase of our analysis of the standing of the Courts of Appeal in the California Supreme Court’s decision making, calculating three-year floating average votes to affirm each District of the Court of Appeal in civil and criminal cases. Today, we begin the second half of that analysis with the civil cases between 2008 and 2015.

Division One of the First District was below the statewide average for several years early in the period, averaging zero votes to affirm in 2008 and 1.4 in 2009 and 2010, but has done much better since, with an average of seven votes to affirm in 2011, 2013 and 2014, and 4.67 votes in 2015. Division Two has done the same. In 2008, the Court averaged 0.8 votes to affirm. It averaged 3.33 in 2009 and 3.5 from 2010 through 2012, before rising to 6.5 in 2013 and 2014, and 6 in 2015. Division Three was likewise below the statewide average for the most of the period, averaging 4.2 votes to affirm in 2008, 3.5 in 2009, 2.5 in 2010, 3.25 in 2011 and 3 in 2012, before briefly rising in 2013 and 2014. Division Four has been below the statewide average throughout these years, with votes to affirm of 2.6 in 2008, 4.67 in 2009, 3.33 in 2010, 2.86 in 2011, 3.14 in 2012, 3.2 in 2013, 2.25 in 2014 and zero in 2015. Division Five followed a similar path, with average votes to affirm of 2.33 in 2009 and zero from 2010 through 2013, before rising to 3.5 in 2014 and 2015.

Division One of the Second District fared quite well between 2008 and 2010, averaging 4, 4.67 and 4.67 votes to affirm, but has fallen off since, with 1.75 votes in 2011, 1.17 in 2012, 2.63 in 2013, 2.33 in 2014 and 2.5 in 2015. Division Two of the Second District averaged five votes to affirm 2010 and 6.5 in 2011 and 2012, before falling to zero in 2013 and 2.33 in 2014 and 2015. Division Three of the Second District averaged below two votes to affirm in 2008, 2009 and 2011 (1.25, 1.18 and 1.75) and under three in 2010, 2012 and 2013 (2, 2.71 and 2.57), before rising to four votes in 2014 and 2015. Division Four of the Second District has been below the statewide average throughout these years, at 3.43 votes in 2008 and 3.75 in 2009, 2.5 in 2010, 1.5 in 2011, 2 in 2012, 1.57 in 2013, 2.5 in 2014 and 1.6 votes to affirm in 2015. Division Five has consistently been below the statewide average as well: 2.39 votes to affirm in 2008, 2.33 in 2009, 2 in 2011, 0.88 in 2012, 0.14 in 2013, 2 votes in 2014 and 2.33 in 2015. Division Six hasn’t fared much better. The court averaged only two votes to affirm in 2008, 1 in 2009, 1.75 in 2010 and 2011. The court rose to 3.5 votes in 2012, but fell to zero in 2013 and 1.5 in 2014 and 2015. Division Seven averaged three votes to affirm in 2008 and four in 2009, before falling to 2.33 in 2010, 1.17 in 2011, zero in 2012 and 1.75 votes to affirm in 2013. The court rose to seven votes to affirm 2014 and 3.5 in 2015. Division Eight has fared somewhat better than other Divisions of the Second District, but has still been below the statewide average nearly start to finish: 3.25 votes in 2008, 3.14 in 2009, 2 in 2010, 1.71 in 2011, zero in 2012, 3.5 in 2013 and 2015, and 4.3 in 2015.

In Table 109, we report the data for the rest of the state. The Third District has fared below the statewide average, with 3.13 votes in 2008, 3.45 in 2009 and 2.14 in 2010. Since that time, the court has remained below an average of 2 votes to affirm – 1 in 2011, 0.17 in 2012, 0.25 in 2013, 0.6 in 2014 and 1.8 in 2015. The First Division of the Fourth District was at the statewide average between 2008 and 2010 (3.47 in 2008, 3.33 in 2009, 3.86 in 2010), before falling to 3 in 2011, 2 in 2012, 1.17 in 2013, 1.5 in 2014 and 2.8 in 2015. Division Two of the Fourth District has for the most part fared well at the Court – 4.22 votes to affirm in 2008, 3 votes in 2009, 3.5 in 2012, 5.25 in 2013, 6.5 in 2014 and 3.33 in 2015.

Division Three of the Fourth District was consistently above the statewide average from 2008 to 2011, with 4.75 votes to affirm in 2008, 5.63 in 2009, 5.13 in 2010 and 4.11 in 2011. The court fell to 1.63 votes in 2012, 0.83 in 2013, 0.5 in 2014 and 2 votes to affirm in 2015. Both the Fifth and Sixth Districts have been consistently below the statewide average. The Fifth District averaged 1.33 votes to affirm in 2008, 2 votes in 2009, zero in 2010 and 2012, 3.5 in 2013 and 2.8 in 2014, before rising to 4.2 in 2015. The Sixth District was below three votes to affirm in every year from 2008 to 2014 – 2.5 in 2008, 2.33 in 2009, 2.55 in 2010, 2.92 in 2011, 2.9 in 2012, 2.14 in 2013 and 1.6 votes in 2014, before rising to 3.5 in 2015. The Court has heard comparatively few direct appeals on the civil side, but has averaged six votes to affirm in 2009, 7 in 2010, 6.5 in 2011 and 7 in 2012.

Join us back here tomorrow as we review the Court’s average votes to affirm for the Districts and Divisions of the Court of Appeal in criminal cases between 2008 and 2015.

About this Blog

In the next few years, data analytics will revolutionize litigation. At the California Supreme Court Review, we’ve mined dozens of data points from every one of the more than 3,000 decisions handed down by the California Supreme Court from 1990 through 2017. We use that unique database to share new insights culled from tens of thousands of pages of opinions about the Justices and their decision-making process, the parties and issues which come before the Court.